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Eastern State Penitentiary Lesson Plan I 1

Eastern State Penitentiary: Lesson Plan I

Eastern State Penitentiary in the 19th

Century

Eastern Penitentiary, Philadelphia, 1830s. Engraving with watercolor, 2 15/16 x 4 13/16”. The Library Company of Philadelphia.

If one were to take a walking tour of the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it

would not take long to find the one building that simply does not fit into its surroundings. The

architecture and design only add to the mystery and intrigue provided by Eastern State

Penitentiary. From the outside, Eastern State very closely resembles a 17th

century European

castle. Its dauntingly high stone walls topped by turrets were meant to instill fear and intimidate

all who approach it. Once inside the penitentiary, the level of anxiety and uncertainty for inmates

and visitors continues through its maze of cellblocks.

Considered a revolution in prison reform when it opened in 1829, Eastern State became the home

to the “Pennsylvania,” or the “Separate System” of prison philosophy. Prisoners were kept

separated from one another, and all outside contacts, during their stay. The intention was that

they would reflect upon the decisions that resulted in their sentencing and would eventually be

reformed and returned to society. Between 1829 and 1900, America saw many changes within

its society, which are clearly reflected in the changes at Eastern State Penitentiary through those

same years.


About This Lesson

This historic lesson is based on the Eastern State Penitentiary located in the Fairmount section of

the city of Philadelphia. This lesson is one of two in a series of lesson plans bringing relevant

stories of the penitentiary into the classroom. This lesson plan focuses on the creation of Eastern

State Penitentiary and its response to societal changes between 1829 and 1901. Sources used for

this lesson plan include maps/photographs accessed directly on Eastern State Penitentiary’s

website and primary sources such as the 1831 Register of Pennsylvania and the 72nd

Annual

Report of the Inspectors of the State Penitentiary. Eastern State Penitentiary is on the National

Register of Historic Places under file name and registration number: Eastern State Penitentiary

#66000680. This lesson plan was designed by Jim Dunn (Oakcrest High School).

Where It Fits into the Curriculum

Topics: The lesson could be used in American History, Criminal Justice, Sociology, Psychology,

Statistical Methods, or General Mathematic courses. It provides an interesting contrast

to typical textbook coverage, which tends to cover the increase in population and shifts

in demographics during the 1800s but pays little attention to their effects on the justice

and prison system.

Time Period: 1820-1900

Topics to Visit/Expand Upon: Social Studies, Criminal Justice, Government and Politics,

Sociology, Psychology, and General Mathematics.

Common Core Standards

This lesson plan’s activities can be used to address many of the Common Core Standards for

Grades 6-12:

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/anchor-standards-6-

12/college-and-career-readiness-anchor-standards-for-reading/

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/anchor-standards-6-

12/college-and-career-readiness-anchor-standards-for-writing/

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/anchor-standards-6-

12/college-and-career-readiness-anchor-standards-for-speaking-and-listening/


Relevant U.S. History Standards Grades 5-12

http://nchs.ucla.edu/standards/us-standards5-12.html

Era 4 - Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)

• Standard 2B–The student understands the first era of American urbanization.

• Standard 2C–The student understands how antebellum immigration changed American

society.

• Standard 4B–The student understands how Americans strived to reform society and

create a distinct culture.

Era 6 -The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)

• Standard 1B–The student understands the rapid growth of cities and how urban life

changed.

• Standard 2A–The student understands the sources and experiences of the new

immigrants.

• Standard 2B–The student understands "scientific racism," race relations, and the struggle

for equal rights.

• Standard 2C–The student understands how new cultural movements at different social

levels affected American life.

• Standard 3C–The student understands how Americans grappled with social, economic,

and political issues.

Relevant Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands

• Strand I–Culture

• Strand II–Time, Continuity, and Change

• Strand III–People, Places, and Environments

• Strand VI–Power, Authority, and Governance

• Strand X–Civic Ideals and Practices

Find Your State’s Social Studies and History Standards

http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/state-standards?filter0=172&filter1=**ALL**&filter2=


Objectives for Students

1. Students will explore the physical design of Eastern State Penitentiary and how the

design changed throughout the years.

2. Students will give reasons why Eastern State Penitentiary deviated from the Pennsylvania

System in the 1870s.

3. Students will develop an understanding of the internal and external factors that caused

changes within the penitentiary.

4. Students will analyze the crimes of the inmates and determine how those crimes represent

or reflect the society outside of Eastern State Penitentiary.

Materials for Students

The materials listed below can either be used directly on the computer or can be printed out for

student use.

1. Two maps of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia

2. Two readings and three documents about the history of Eastern State Penitentiary,

prison reform, and reports from the inspectors of Eastern State Penitentiary

3. Five photographs/drawings of Eastern State Penitentiary and inmate cells

Visiting the Site

A field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is an experience that allows your students

to learn history and become engaged in historic inquiry. Through an interactive tour, students

will use Eastern State Penitentiary’s 142-year history as a lens to examine the larger story of

American History.

Class tours are tailored to the grade level or college year of your group. When you are booking

your tour, please let us know what your students are currently studying, their education level, and

if you have specific interests, such as religious influence, architecture, criminal justice or

escapes. Our school tours are designed to address a variety of academic standards for elementary

through high school students, available for download from Eastern State Penitentiary Historic

Site.

http://www.easternstate.org/sites/default/files/ESP_StateStandardsBrochure_1.jpg

Although private group tours are available throughout the year at Eastern State Penitentiary, cold

weather can make winter and early spring tours a very chilling experience. We recommend

group tours between April 1 and November 30.


Recommended for students 10 years of age and older. Tours are not recommended for children

under the age of seven (7). Led by a member of our guide staff. Limited to groups of 15 to 125. 1

hour.

For more information, visit Eastern State Penitentiary’s website at http://www.easternstate.org.


Getting Started

Inquiry Question

This engraving by Samuel Cowperthwaite, convict number 2954, shows Architect John Haviland’s seven original cellblocks spreading like the

spokes of a wheel. The State Penitentiary, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1855. Lithograph by P.S. Duval and Co., 8 3/4 x 10 7/16". The

Library Company of Philadelphia.

What effects would this building have on the people in the surrounding areas?

Use the Photo Analysis worksheet to further investigate this image.


Photo Analysis Worksheet

Adapted from Teaching With Historic Places Photo Analysis Worksheet, available at

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/photoana.htm

1. Take a few seconds to examine the photograph. How would you describe it?

2. Divide the photograph into quadrants. Looking at each section individually, what do you

notice? Pay attention to details such as people, objects, or activities, as well as clues that

tell you what time period, season, or location the picture is from. Write your

observations in the table below:

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4

3. Based on what you have observed, how would you now describe the photo? Did the

detailed study of the photograph change your mind about it?

4. Do you have any questions about the photograph? How do you think you would go about

finding the answers?


Setting the Stage

Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, gift of Jack Flynn.

The history and evolution of Eastern State Penitentiary from its opening in 1829 to the turn of

the 20th

century provides an excellent case study for multiple ideas and concepts that are integral

to the understanding of early American history and sociology. When Eastern State first opened, it

was expected to bring about sweeping changes in the way prisoners would be treated as well as

how prison systems would be organized. From its distinctive architectural design, to the

prisoners’ lives in separate confinement, Eastern State offers a detail-rich history for modern

interpretation and analysis.

Throughout the predetermined timeframe of this lesson, 1829 to 1901, students can witness

Eastern State’s evolution and reaction to societal changes both inside the prison, and more

importantly, outside. A study of the history of Eastern State between these years provides

educators and students a glimpse into such topics as architecture, the ever-changing judicial

system of the 19th

century, immigration, labor, education, race relations, gender roles in society,

and roles of authority.


Locating the Site

Map 1

Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia, PA: Anthony Finley, 1829) located at the Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3820.rr002900. Blue

line added for lesson plan.


The map on the previous page shows the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with a light blue line

that indicates the division between East and West at the time of the creation of Eastern State

Penitentiary (ESP). By this time, Philadelphia, located in the southeastern corner, was the second

largest city in the United States. ESP was originally meant to be the only state prison to hold

prisoners from the area designated by the blue line to the Delaware River. When the first seven

cellblocks were completed in 1836, Eastern State Penitentiary could hold 450 inmates in the

Separate System.

Questions for Map 1

1. What do you think were the leading crimes in 1829?

2. In 1820, the population of Philadelphia city and county combined was 136,497.1

Keeping in mind that the penitentiary served the whole eastern half of the state, how

quickly do you think the penitentiary reached maximum capacity?

1 Philadelphia in 1830, or A Brief Account of the Various Institutions and Public Objects in this Metropolis, (Philadelphia: E.L. Carey and A.

Hart, 1830), page 295.


Map 2

This is an inset portion of a larger map located at the Library of Congress, “The City of New York as laid out by the Commissioners with the

surrounding country / by their secretary and surveyor John Randel, Junior,” 1821. (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3804n.ct001389)


The map on the previous page shows the city of Philadelphia at the time that the plan for Eastern

State Penitentiary was approved, in 1821.

Questions for Map 2

1. Locate the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. Since the street names have changed since

the creation of this map, it is important to know that Francis Lane is now Fairmount

Avenue. Today, Eastern State Penitentiary is located on this street. Explain the

surroundings of the penitentiary in relation to Philadelphia in 1821.

2. Why might the architects and developers have chosen to place the penitentiary in this

location?


Determining the Facts

Document 1

The following document is from: The Register of Pennsylvania, Vol. VII, January to July of

1831, edited by Samuel Hazard. The chart shows all inmates taken into Eastern State

Penitentiary from October 29, 1829 to December 20, 1830. Information provided by this record

includes, but is not limited to: inmate number, place of nativity, date of incarceration and

offense.

Questions for Document 1

1. Where is the most common place of nativity for the inmates listed in this document?

2. How many inmates were sentenced for crimes against property (robbery, burglary, horse

stealing, forgery)? How many were sentenced for crimes against an individual (murder,

rape, manslaughter)?


Tabular Statement, A. Eastern State Penitentiary http://books.google.com/books?id=kHgFAAAAQAAJ&dq=register of pennsylvania vol vii eastern state

penitentiary&pg=PA89#v=onepage&q=register%20of%20pennsylvania%20vol%20vii%20eastern%20state%20penitentiary&f=false


Document 2

This is an excerpt from The 72nd Annual Report. The first chart shows the inmates’ answers to

the cause of the crime they committed. The second chart lists the crimes that were committed.

The third chart details the nativities of those sentenced to Eastern State Penitentiary. Only the

responses for the 350 inmates that were taken into Eastern State Penitentiary in 1901 are shown.



1. Has the “character” of crimes changed since the 1830 list of inmate offenses? If yes, how

so? If no, what are the similarities?

2. After looking at the charts listed above, what, if anything, can you determine about life in

Philadelphia and the surrounding areas? Explain your reasoning.


Document 3

Text of the rules given to every prisoner entering Eastern State Penitentiary, c. 1840:

TO THE PRISONER IN HIS CELL.

_______________________________

You are desired strictly to observe the following rules established by the Inspectors for

your government.

_____________________________________________

FIRST.

You must keep your person, cell and utensils clean and in order.

SECOND

You must obey promptly, all directions given to you, either by the Inspectors, Warden, or

Overseers.

THIRD

You must not make any unnecessary noise, either by singing, whistling, or in any other

manner; but in all respects preserve becoming silence. You must not try to communicate with

your fellow-prisoners in the adjoining cells, either from you own apartment, or during the time

you are exercising in your yard.

FOURTH

All surplus food must be placed in the vessel provided for that purpose; and all wastage

of materials, or other dirt, must be carefully collected and handed out of the cell, when called for

by the Overseer.

FIFTH

You must apply yourself industriously, at whatever employment is assigned you; and

when your task is finished, it is recommended that your time be devoted to the proper

improvement of your mind, either in reading the books provided for the purpose, or in case you

cannot read, in learning to do so.

SIXTH

Should you have any complaint to make against the Qverseer having charge of you, make

it to the Warden or Inspector- if against the Warden to the Inspector.


SEVENTH

Be at all times, in your intercourse with the officers of the Penitentiary, respectful and

courteous, and never suffer yourself to be led astray from your duties, by angry or revengeful

feelings.

EIGHTH

Observe the Sabbath; though you are separated from the world, the day is not the less

holy.

_____________________________________________

The inspectors desire to treat every prisoner under their charge with humanity and

kindness; and they hope that in return, the prisoner will strictly conform to the rules adopted for

his government.


1. What role does religion play in the rules for inmates at Eastern State?

2. How would the penitentiary’s overcrowding and difficulties in maintaining the Separate

System alter the inmates’ abilities to abide by these rules?

3. Do you think these rules were reasonable? Why or why not?


Reading 1

BRIEF HISTORY OF EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY2

In the ambitious age of reform following the American Revolution, the new nation aspired to

profoundly change its public institutions, and to set an example for the world in social

development. Every type of institution that we are familiar with today- educational, medical and

governmental- was revolutionized in these years by the principles of the Enlightenment.

Of all of the radical innovations born in this era, American democracy was, of course, the most

influential. Most people are aware of the influence of American democracy, but fewer are aware

of the worldwide influence of America’s prison design and reform. This began with Eastern

State Penitentiary, formed in response to the prisons of the era.

Most 18th

century prisons were simply large holding pens. Groups of adults and children, men

and women, and petty thieves and murderers, were left to fend for themselves behind locked

doors. Physical punishments such as whippings were common, and it was assumed that guards

would abuse the prisoners.

In 1787, a group of well-known and powerful Philadelphians, members of The Philadelphia

Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, met in the home of Benjamin Franklin.

The group expressed growing concern with the conditions in American and European prisons.

Dr. Benjamin Rush spoke of the Society's goal to see the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania set the

world standard in prison design. He suggested a radical idea: to build a true penitentiary; a

prison designed to inspire true regret, or penitence, in criminals’ hearts. No government had

successfully carried out such a program.

It took the Society more than thirty years to convince the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to

build the kind of prison it suggested: a ground-breaking new building on farmland outside

Philadelphia. The penitentiary would not only be in a revolutionary building; its methods broke

sharply with the prisons of its day, abandoning physical punishment and ill treatment. This

2 Adapted from “Six Page History of Eastern State Penitentiary," www.easternstate.org


massive new structure, opened in 1829, became the most expensive American building of its day

and soon the most famous prison in the world. The penitentiary would not simply punish, but

move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change.

The method used at Eastern State was a Quaker-inspired system of isolation from other

prisoners, with labor. The early system was strict. To keep inmates from seeing the layout of

the building, other inmates, or even the guards, they were hooded whenever they were outside

their cells. Inmates were not allowed to have interactions with their families or friends on the

outside, or even with their neighbors in the cellblocks. Only approved visitors could speak to the

inmates—at all other times, they were to remain silent. The proponents of the system believed

strongly that the criminals, forced, through silence, to think of their behavior and the ugliness of

their crimes, would become genuinely penitent. To maintain this system, a brand new building

design had to be used.

Eastern State’s seven earliest cellblocks may represent the first modern building in the United

States. British-born architect John Haviland designed the prison to have seven cellblocks

radiating, like the spokes on a wheel, from a central hub. From the very center, a guard could

watch the entire building. In order to maintain the inmates’ separation, each had to have his or

her own cell, where he or she spent twenty-three hours of the day, and an attached private

outdoor exercise yard that was available one hour a day. Each cell, then, had to have heat,

running water, a toilet, and a skylight for airflow. Haviland created many new mechanical

systems to provide central heating and water access, for drinking and for flushing toilets. This

had not been done on a large scale before. In fact, this was in an age when President Andrew

Jackson, living in the White House, had no running water and relied on coal-burning stoves for

heat.

In the sky lit cell, the prisoner had only the light from heaven, the word of God (a copy of the

Bible was provided) and honest work (shoemaking, weaving, and the like) to lead to penitence.

The interior of the penitentiary was designed with tall arched windows, skylights, and barrel-

vaulted hallways to create the feeling of a cathedral. Haviland wrote of the penitentiary as a

forced monastery- a machine for reform. In contrast, he added a dark, medieval facade, outer

walls built to intimidate and, ironically, imply that physical punishment took place behind those

grim walls.


Virtually all prisons designed in the 19th

century, worldwide, were based on one of two systems:

New York State's Auburn System, and the Pennsylvania System embodied in the Eastern State

Penitentiary. During the century following Eastern's construction, more than 300 prisons in

South America, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, and across the British Empire were based on the

Pennsylvania System. Delegations came directly to Philadelphia to study the Pennsylvania

System and its architecture. For many nations, Eastern's distinctive geometric form and its

system of isolation became a symbol of progressive, modern principles.

As tourists flocked to Philadelphia in the 1830s and 1840s to see this architectural wonder, a

debate grew about the effectiveness and compassion of solitary confinement. Was it cruel to

hold these men and women without outside visitors, without books or letters from home, without

contact with the outside world? Accounts vary.

Alexis de Tocqueville visited Eastern State Penitentiary in 1831 with Gustave de Beaumont.

They wrote in their report to the French government:

Thrown into solitude... [the prisoner] reflects. Placed alone, in view of his crime,

he learns to hate it; and if his soul be not yet surfeited with crime, and thus have lost

all taste for any thing better, it is in solitude, where remorse will come to assail him....

Can there be a combination more powerful for reformation than that of a prison which

hands over the prisoner to all the trials of solitude, leads him through reflection to

remorse, through religion to hope; makes him industrious by the burden of idleness..?

Charles Dickens did not agree. He recounts his 1842 visit to Eastern State Penitentiary in

Chapter Seven of his travel journal, American Notes for General Circulation. The chapter is

titled “Philadelphia and its Solitary Prison:”

In its intention I am well convinced that it is kind, humane, and meant for

reformation; but I am persuaded that those who designed this system of Prison

Discipline, and those benevolent gentleman who carry it into execution, do not

know what it is that they are doing...I hold this slow and daily tampering with the

mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and

because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye,... and it extorts

few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret

punishment in which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay.


The critics eventually prevailed, although the system did not change quickly. The Pennsylvania

System would not be abandoned until 1913. In the years leading up to this change in system, the

additions to the Eastern State Penitentiary complex illustrate the compromise reached when this

ill-fated intellectual movement collided with the reality of modern prison operation. Warden

Michael Cassidy added the first new cellblocks after the penitentiary’s completion, in the 1870s

and 1890s to house a rising prison population. Mirrors provide continued surveillance into the

new cellblocks from the center hub. The new cells retain the barrel vaults, skylights, and

mechanical systems. But these cells did not include exercise yards. Inmates were issued hoods

with - for the first time - eyeholes. They would exercise together, in continued silence and

anonymity.

Questions for Reading 1

1. How did John Haviland’s architectural design affect the way the inmates served their

sentences?

2. Why did the prison change from separate cells for inmates to congregate cells by the turn

of the 20th

century?


Reading 2

Part I

Eastern State Penitentiary HSR: IIIA. Early Operation, 1829-65, page 167

8. Neighborhood and Prison Management during the Early Nineteenth Century

Michele Taillon Taylor

In 1821, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased an eleven-acre property in

Philadelphia County for the site of Eastern State Penitentiary(ESP). It had originally been the

country seat of

Benjamin and Joseph Warner. This was one of sixteen tracts considered for purchase.

The property had been an orchard, hence the local name Cherry Hill. The land was located on the

crest of a slight hill known as Bush Hill. A street, known as Francis Lane (later Coates Street,

now Fairmount Avenue) bordered the property by the time of the purchase. Contemporary

accounts refer to the site as "one of the most elevated, airy and healthy sites in the vicinity of

Philadelphia."3

The site's distance from the city, two miles northwest of Center Square in a rural

setting, provided the prison with comparative isolation from the constant threat of epidemics

endemic to urban environments. Its relatively elevated location also ensured distance from

unhealthy swamps, and the salubrious [sanitary] ventilation of breezes.

ESP was built in what became, in 1827, the District of Spring Garden. With the exception of the

small village of Francisville to the east of ESP, the area was mostly made up of country seats

and, apart from these, had no residential development. This can be seen in John Cook's Map of

Philadelphia from 1796 and in William Allen's Plan of The City of Philadelphia from 1828. A

migration of important philanthropic and reform institutions began from the city to the Bush Hill

and Francisville area during the early years of ESP.4 These included the House of Refuge (1826

- originally just south of Francisville on Francis Lane); Girard College for Orphans (1832-1848 -

on Girard and Ridge Rds.); and the "Small Pox Hospital" or City Hospital for patients with

infectious diseases. The latter was the first of these institutions to be located in this

neighborhood, on the southwest corner of Francis Lane and Nineteenth Street. It had been

established in 1818 as a Pest Hospital by the Board of Health close to the eighteenth century

country seat belonging to the Hamilton family (Buttonwood St. between Sixteenth and

Seventeenth). During the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 that residence had been used as a

makeshift hospital for city dwellers suffering from the illness.5 It set the precedent for the

establishment of institutions for the sick and undesirable in this area throughout the nineteenth

century. Other such institutions continued to be located near the prison before and after the

3 N. Teeters, Negley, and J. Shearer, The Prison at Philadelphia: Cherry Hill (New York: Columbia

University Press, 1957), 56. 4 E. Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, A History of the City and its People (Philadelphia: S. J. Clarke Publisher,

1912), 76. 5 R. Webster, Philadelphia Preserved (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1976), 283; R.A. Smith,

Philadelphia as it is in 1852: Being a Correct Guide to all the Public Buildings (Philadelphia: Lindsay and

Blakiston, 1852), 265-266.


consolidation with the city. Examples included Saint Joseph's Hospital on Green Hill, on Girard

Avenue near Girard College,6 and the second House of Refuge with a segregated unit for black

children, just south of Girard College on Poplar St., seen in the A. McElroy map "Philadelphia"

of 1851. Smedley's Atlas of Philadelphia of 1869 showed a "Home for Friendless Children" on

Brown and Twenty-third Sts. The C.M. Hopkins' "City Atlas of Philadelphia by Wards" of 1875

indicated a "German Hospital" on Girard and Corinthian.

In 1831, a Poudrette lot [a dumping ground for contents of privies] had been introduced into the

Spring Garden area, adjacent to the prison on the northeast side. This indicated that this

neighborhood, especially the area next to the prison, had been identified at this point as being of

questionable status, predominantly non-residential, and an appropriate location for disamenities.

(A comparable poudrette lot was to be placed in the Southern Liberties.) The Spring Garden lot

had been bought by the Board of Health in 1831 to remedy the city's pressing need for a

dumping site for its privies.7 The lot or factory (the night soil was converted into manure) was a

problem for the prison. In the Annual Report of 1850 the physician mentioned that the smell

from the lot was particularly offensive in a northeast wind.8

The lot was closed in the early

1850s.

In the area of land just south of the prison, from Broad Street between Callowhill and

Spring Garden Streets westward including the old Bush Hill site, we see the development of a

band of heavy industry beginning in the 1830s. This area quickly became the center of

Philadelphia's production of capital equipment. The first major manufacturer to be established

was Baldwin Locomotive Works (Broad and 15th, Buttonwood and Hamilton), soon joined by

the Norris Locomotive Works, the Bush Hill Ironworks, Rush and Muhlenberg (stationary steam

engines), William Sellers & Co. (leading manufacturer of machine tools), and William B.

Bement & Son (also machine tools). Other industries in the area were the Monumental

Marbleworks (in Francisville), and the Pennsylvania Soap Works and William Wood & Co.

(cotton and woolen goods), the latter two moving to the area by mid-century. These firms came

to the Spring Garden/Bush Hill district because of its open land and accessibility through good

rail connections (Philadelphia and Columbia RR). These were both essential to capital equipment

builders who required large factories, ready access to raw materials like coal and iron and ability

to ship their products.9

The establishment of industries and institutions around the general area of the penitentiary

fostered the growth of a residential population that worked in these places. In the 1830s certain

6Smith, 266. 7 See Board of Health Minutes, September 30, 1830 - September 25, 1832, unpaginated, City Archives,

Philadelphia. 8 Annual Report for Eastern State Penitentiary Number 21, (1850). 9 E. Wolf, "The Origins of Philadelphia's Self-depreciation," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and

Biography, 104 (January 1969):69; and J. K. Brown, "The Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1915: A Case

Study in the Capital Equipment Sector," (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Virginia, 1992), 10.


employees of the prison such as the warden, the superintendent, his family, and some workers

resided in the prison. Others boarded in the city or at Thomas Maguire's tavern across the street

from ESP.10

Workers in local manufacturers also initially traveled out from the city, but that was

an extreme inconvenience. The first street railway lines drawn by horse cars were not introduced

until after consolidation in 1855 and intra-urban travel was not cheap until the end of the

century.11

The population of the Spring Garden ward grew exponentially from 1820 to 1860, from 3,498 to

32,091 souls.12

Maps of the period show that residences were beginning to cluster around

institutions such as ESP. (Smedley's Complete Atlas of Philadelphia, 1862). The rapid growth of

the neighborhood was not without its problems. In 1849, a New York Tribune reporter, George

Foster, wrote that the "...'districts' of Spring Garden, Northern Liberties...have become infested

with...the most graceless vagabonds and unmitigated ruffians...". Foster went on to decry the

"gambling houses of Spring Garden, Southwark and Moyamensing."13

Who were the populations that had moved into this area? Alan Burnstein, in four maps tracing

the immigration of German and Irish populations in Philadelphia from 1850 to 1880, shows

inroads of German immigrants in the Spring Garden area with gradual increases in population

size by the 1880s. The large numbers of breweries in maps of that period indicate a substantial

German population. Less skilled, the Irish were scattered throughout the city, though clustered

around Spring Garden by 1850 in response to the area's burgeoning industry. By 1880 Burstein

finds a concentration of Irish population in that area.14 On the other hand, in the nineteenth

century few African-Americans resided in the Spring Garden district. (The census tract of the

city for 1850 indicates that in the Spring Garden district only 1356 out of a total of 58,854

inhabitants were of African ancestry. That number remained roughly constant throughout the

nineteenth century, despite population growth).

10 See T. B. McElwee, A Concise History of the Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, Together with a

Detailed Statement of the Proceedings of the Committee, Appointed by the Legislature, vols. 1-2, December 6,

1834 (Philadelphia: Neall and Massey, 1835) for accounts of some of the employees. Maguire was also county

commissioner. 11 R. Weigley, "The Border City in Civil War," in Philadelphia, a 300-year History, R. Weigley, ed. (New

York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1982), 379. 12 Smedley's Complete Atlas of Philadelphia, 1862. 13 G. R. Taylor, "'Philadelphia in Slices' by George G. Foster," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and

Biography 93 (Jan 1969): 23-72. 14 A. Burstein, "Immigrants and Residential Mobility: the Irish and German in Philadelphia, 1850-1880" in T.

Philadelphia: Work, Spaces, Family, and Group Experience in the Nineteenth Century, T. Hershberg, ed.,

(Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1981), 181-182, and maps 3-4.


Part II

Thirty-Eighth Annual Report, Cover page and pages 37-45


Questions for Reading 2

1. Consider the evolution of this neighborhood. Why do you think German and Irish

immigrants populated the area? Take a look back at the map of Philadelphia while you

consider industry location. From this excerpt, do you think these populations were

viewed favorably?

2. Using the modern map, plot the locations discussed in the reading, to better understand

the area surrounding Eastern State Penitentiary, in the 19th

century. Does this tell you

anything about the neighborhood?

3. Examine the table of inmates received at Eastern State Penitentiary in 1866. Consider the

author’s statements about those living in the neighborhood in the 19th

century. What

percentage of foreign-born inmates was received in Eastern State Penitentiary that year?

Why do you think that is? Be prepared to discuss.


Visual Evidence

Images 1 and 2

At left:

1836 Floor Plan engraving, from

Demetz and Blouet, 183715

At right:

Model of Eastern

State Penitentiary16

15 M. Frederic-Auguste Demetz and M. G. Abel Blouet, Rapports sur les Penitenciers des Etats-Unis, (Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1837).

Available for download at: http://www.easternstate.org/contact/press-room/photos 16 Michael J. Cassidy, Warden Cassidy on Prisons and Convicts (Philadelphia: Patterson & White, 1897), p.2. This image is from Eastern State

Penitentiary Historic Site’s collection. The image is also available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=y-1jiVr8h-

4C&dq=warden%20cassidy&pg=PP12#v=onepage&q&f=false


Questions for Images 1 and 2

1. Compare and contrast the floor plan and the model.

2. What might have happened in Eastern State Penitentiary that would cause such drastic

changes to the original floor plan in such a short period of time? What events in

American history may have influenced the situation at Eastern State Penitentiary?


Image 3

George Lehman, Eastern Penitenitary of Pennsylvania near Philadelphia, 1833. Lithograph by Childs and Inman, 9 11/16 x12”.

The Library Company of Philadelphia. Available at http://www.easternstate.org/contact/press-room/photos

Eastern State Penitentiary was built just outside of Philadelphia’s city limits in 1829. The

building was meant to resemble a European castle to instill fear in the citizens who saw it from a

distance.

Questions for Image 3

1. What details about the building’s architecture may have helped deter crime in the city?

2. Describe the area surrounding the penitentiary.

3. Use the photograph analysis worksheet to examine the message the artist may be trying to

convey through this etching of Eastern State Penitentiary.


Image 4

Photo: Andrew J Simcox, 1997.

This photo shows an aerial view of Eastern State Penitentiary in modern-day Philadelphia.


1. How does this image of Eastern State compare and contrast the Image 3?

2. Why might the people of Philadelphia have decided to build around the penitentiary?

Why do you think they did not remove the penitentiary? Who do you think the first

people to live near the building might have been?


Image 5

Photo from: Vaux, Richard. Brief Sketch of the Origin and History of the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at

Philadelphia. McLaughlin Brothers Printing: Philadelphia. 1872.

Under the Pennsylvania System, inmates would stay in their cells 23 hours each day. They would

be allowed no more than 1 hour of free time in their exercise yard for recreation. This image

shows a cell in its original form, with the grated door at the rear of the cell that allowed the

inmate access to their exercise yard.


1. The intent of the Pennsylvania System was to lead the inmates to true penitence, or

regret, for his or her actions. How would the design of this cell help lead the inmate to

this point?

2. Eastern State became overcrowded quickly, and the Separate System started to fall apart.

How would the life of an inmate living in this cell change when inmates had to share a

cell?


Putting it All Together

These activities will help students understand the following questions:

Why was Eastern State Penitentiary built? How did the building change from 1829 to 1900?

How did the system inside the prison adapt to an increase in inmates? What causes from the

“outside” created the need for change inside the prison?

Activity 1:

During the early 19th

century, prison reform became a very hot topic. Two competing systems

emerged during this time period, the Pennsylvania and the New York System. Split the students

in two groups and assign each group one of the two systems. Each group will be responsible for

both defending their system and vilifying the other. This activity could be set up in a debate

format where each group can go point/counterpoint or a more lengthy research period could be

assigned.

Activity 2:

This activity should be both creative and thought provoking. Eastern State not only altered its

system of handling inmates but also changed its physical structure. Using images 1 and 2 from

the Visual Evidence section, have students come up with other ways that Eastern State could

have altered its physical structure while maintaining inmates in an isolated environment within

the penitentiary.

Activity 3:

Have students research what prison life was like prior to 1829 and the introduction of Eastern

State Penitentiary. Teachers may choose to stay within Philadelphia. This would offer an

excellent comparison. However, if teachers choose to look outside of Philadelphia during this

same time period, they could find interesting comparisons to such cities as Boston, New York,

Baltimore, or Charleston.

Activity 4:

The architecture of Eastern State Penitentiary was revolutionary for its time. Considering that the

building is still standing more than 180 years after it was built speaks volumes for its durability

and efficiency. Have students find structures in their local town, county or state that were built in

the early 1800s and that are still standing. Students should be instructed to identify

characteristics of both structures that may have helped them last for as long as they have. What

do the buildings have in common structurally? In what ways do they differ?


Supplemental Resources

Further resources on Eastern State Penitentiary, the prison system, and relevant 19th

century

history can be found in the following locations:

Further Online Research:

• Eastern State Penitentiary Online Research Library:

http://easternstate.org/learn/research-library

• Library of Congress:

http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa1200/pa1207/data/pa1207.pdf

• Prison Plaque:

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/110_penitentiary.html

• Lonestar College- Kingwood. “American Cultural History: The 19th

Century”:

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/19thcentury.html

• America.gov. “Immigration and U.S. History”:

http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-

english/2008/February/20080307112004ebyessedo0.1716272.html

• Google News Archive Search

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&cf=all

• Eastern State Penitentiary Lesson Plan II:

Video clips:

• Inside Eastern State Penitentiary and Related Clips:

http://www.history.com/videos/inside-eastern-state-penitentiary#inside-eastern-state-

penitentiary

Books:

• Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York. New

York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1890:

http://books.google.com/books?id=zhcv_oA5dwgC&dq=jacob%20Riis&pg=PA82#v=on

epage&q&f=false

o This book details life of the poor in New York at the end of the nineteenth

century. Chapter Eight examines the cause of crime in poor men who have

moved to the city.

• Gjerde, Jon. Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History. Houghton

Mifflin, 1998.

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